From the red clay to the green lawns, June's top performances featured former collegians collecting ATP and WTA titles on the grass, with two unseeded juniors hoisting unexpected winner's trophies at Roland Garros. Current and former collegians also had an impressive month with several extended winning streaks, while top juniors continued to make their mark on the men's and women's International Tennis Federation World Tennis Tour.
Oliver Tarvet
The rising senior at the University of San Diego won the title at a SoCal Pro Series $15,000 tournament in his collegiate hometown before heading to his home country to compete in Wimbledon qualifying as a wild card. The 21-year-old, who finished the year No. 5 in the ITA rankings, turned in a stunning performance in Roehampton, beating No. 14 seed Terence Atmane of France in the first round, former NC State star Alexis Galarneau of Canada in the second round and No. 29 seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final round. Tarvet continued his dream run at the AELTC, beating fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland in straight sets for his first ATP-level main draw win. (Photo credit: Lexie Wanninger/USTA)
Iva Jovic
The unseeded 17-year-old Californian won her biggest event at the WTA 125 in Ilkley, beating No. 8 seed and defending champion Rebecca Marino of Canada 6-1, 6-3 in the final. That moved the 2024 USTA National 18s champion into the WTA Top 100 for the first time, but that rise came too late for entry in the Wimbledon main draw. Instead, she had to go through qualifying, never an easy task, but the No. 3 seed continued her winning streak with three more victories, including a 6-3, 7-6(2) win over No. 32 seed Katarzyna Kawa of Poland in the final round of qualifying. Jovic will now play in her fourth consecutive major women's singles main draw at Wimbledon; she has won a match in the previous three.
McCartney Kessler
The former University of Florida All-American captured her third WTA title, all since last August, at the 250 in Nottingham last month. The unseeded 25-year-old from Georgia defeated Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 6-4, 7-5 in the final, after beating top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the first round and defending champion Katie Boulter of Great Britain in the quarterfinals. Not only did Kessler claim her first WTA grass court title, but she secured a seed at Wimbledon, just a year after reaching the Wimbledon main draw via qualifying.
Gabriel Diallo
The former University of Kentucky All-American won his first ATP title last month at the ATP 250 grass court tournament in the Netherlands. The 23-year-old Canadian, who saved match points in the second round and won all four of the tiebreakers he contested in his five victories, defeated unseeded Zizou Bergs of Belgium 7-5, 7-6(8) in the final. Diallo, who was 176 in the ATP rankings a year ago, moved to a career-high ATP ranking of 40 with the win.
Alexis Blokhina
The 20-year-old Floridian, who, in January, left Stanford in the middle of her junior year to pursue a pro career, won her first ITF women's World Tennis Tour singles title in Germany last month as a qualifier. Blokhina needed three sets to beat the only two seeds she faced at the W50 in Troisdorf, taking out No. 2 seed Leonie Kung of Switzerland in the second round 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 and No. 7 seed Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. With the 50 points she earned, Blokhina is into the WTA Top 500 for the first time.
Niels McDonald
The 17-year-old from Germany had four ITF J200 titles on clay on his resumé, but had never won a J300 or J500 tournament prior to claiming the Roland Garros boys singles championship last month. Unseeded, McDonald took out three seeds, including No, 1 Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain in the third round. But in the final he met unseeded compatriot Max Schoenhaus. After a well-played first set, McDonald gave Schoenhaus no break points to work with in the next two, finishing off a 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3 victory in the first Roland Garros boys final between two Germans. With the title, McDonald rose from 28 to 4 in the ITF junior rankings.
Lilli Tagger
Like McDonald, Tagger wasn't seeded at the Roland Garros Junior Championships, although with her one-handed backhand and her ITF W35 title on clay in March, she was certainly a dark horse. With her win in that pro circuit final coming over Roland Garros women's semifinalist Lois Boisson of France, Tagger's stock continued to rise. And after defeating No. 3 seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium and top seed Emerson Jones of Australia in her run to the girls final, she was the favorite over No. 8 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain. They had met in that same W35 in a three-set semifinal, but this time Tagger dominated Klugman 6-2, 6-0 to capture the title, which moved her ITF junior ranking to a career-high of 4.
Dasha Vidmanova
The recent University of Georgia graduate, an Ace in May as the Most Outstanding Player for leading the Bulldogs to their first NCAA title since 2000, kept right on winning in June on the pro circuit. The 22-year-old from the Czech Republic, who won the 2024 NCAA doubles title in the spring and the 2024 singles title in the fall, claimed the biggest pro title at the W75 in Sumter, South Carolina, after winning the W35 in the Dominican Republic on the first day of the month. Unseeded in Sumter, Vidmanova beat unseeded LSU rising sophomore Cadence Brace of Canada for her 10th straight win. She is now at 249 in the WTA rankings after being outside the Top 1000 a year ago.
Janice Tjen
An Ace in May for her two W35 titles in Korea, the former Pepperdine All-American went undefeated in June, reeling off 20 straight wins for titles at a W15, two W35s and W50. The 23-year-old from Indonesia was seeded 1, 2, 3 and 1 in those four tournaments, with the W50 in Taizhou, China two weeks ago the biggest title of the 13 she has won since completing her eligibility in May of 2024. Seeded No. 3, Tjen didn't drop a set there all week, beating unseeded Yidi Yang of China 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Seeded No. 1 last week at the W35 in Taiwan, Tjen won her 25th consecutive match in the final, beating Momoko Kobori of Japan 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Tjen also won three doubles titles last month, two with compatriot and former NC State standout Priska Nugroho. When the points are added from her Taiwan title, Tjen will be in the WTA Top 200 for the first time.
Laura Samson
The 17-year-old from the Czech Republic won the fourth ITF women's World Tennis Tour title of her career last month in her home country, a W75 in Ceska Lipa, after her first three titles, all W15s, were claimed in 2024. The unseeded former ITF Junior No. 1 defeated top seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-0, 6-3 in the second round and No. 7 seed Hanyu Guo of China 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals. In the final, Samson dropped her first set of the week, but rebounded for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 6 seed Carolina Alves of Brazil. With the title, Samson rose to a career-high WTA ranking of 272. (Photo credit: Paul Ballard)
The 17-year-old American, who hasn't played a junior event since last year's USTA Nationals in Kalamazoo, won his second ITF men's World Tennis Tour title last month at the M25 in Martos, Spain. Seeded No. 5, Blanch defeated top seed Clement Chidekh of France 7-6(4), 6-3 in the final, after also taking out No. 2 seed Robin Bertrand of France 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Blanch, who went on to reach the semifinals of another M25 on hard courts in Spain at the end of the month, is now at a career-high ATP ranking of 470.
Clement Chidekh
The former University of Washington All-American began June with his second ATP Challenger 50 title in Moldova, and ended the month with his 10th ITF men's World Tennis Tour title, this one an M25 in Spain. Seeded No. 8 in Moldova, the 24-year-old from France dropped just one set all week, defeating top seed Ilia Simakin of Russia 7-6(6), 7-5 in the final. As the top seed in Spain, Chidekh didn't lose a set, beating No. 3 seed Adria Soriano Barrera of Colombia 6-0, 6-2 in the final. Chidekh's ATP ranking is now at 234.
Fiona Crawley
The former University of North Carolina All-American won back-to-back W35s last month to claim her fourth and fifth career titles on the USTA Pro Circuit. The 23-year-old from Texas, seeded No. 7 in Decatur, Illinois, defeated No. 8 seed Dasha Plekhanova of Canada 7-6(5), 6-4 in the final, before traveling west to Wichita, Kansas the following week. Unseeded, Crawley defeated three seeds to reach the final, where she defeated unseeded Mayu Crossley of Japan 6-0, 7-5. Crawley, the 2023 NCAA doubles champion, now has a WTA ranking of 412.
Aristotelis Thanos
The 24-year-old from Greece won his second ITF men's WTT title and the first at the M25 level last month in Sweden. The No. 8 seed, who has one year of eligibility remaining at Michigan State, beat top seed Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium 7-6(2), 6-3 in the quarterfinals and University of Alabama's 2024 spring NCAA singles champion Filip Planinsek of Slovenia 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals before capping the week with 6-4, 7-6(3) win over wild card Mikael Ymer of Sweden. His 10-2 record during the month will move his ATP ranking inside the Top 500 for the first time. (Photo credit: Michigan State Athletics)
Adeline Lachinova
Although the 17-year-old from Latvia has not broken into the ITF junior Top 100, she's found success on the ITF women's WTT tournaments in Turkey this year, winning her first W15 titles there last month. The 2022 Junior Orange Bowl 14s champion won her first title as the No. 5 seed, beating 18-year-old Alana Subasic of Australia 6-4, 6-1 in the final. After a semifinal loss the next week, Lachinova won title No. 2 in Kayseri as the No. 4 seed, defeating No. 5 seed Marie Villet of France 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the final. Lachinova will be at a WTA career-high of 607 when last week's points are added.
Vivian Wolff
The 26-year-old, who played three years at the University of Georgia and her senior year at UCLA, won the second and biggest title of her career last month at the W35 in Perigueux, France. The unseeded Wolff, who was born in Belgium and represented Germany for many years until switching to the United States, came from a set down twice to reach her second final at the W35 level, then did it a third time to defeat unseeded Cristina Diaz Adrover of Spain 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Wolff will be one spot from her WTA career-high of 351 when the points are added. (Photo credit: Manuela Davies/USTA)
Trevor Svajda
The rising junior at SMU was a perfect 10-0 in singles matches last month during the SoCal Pro Series, winning his second and third USTA Pro Circuit singles titles. Competing in his hometown of San Diego, the unseeded 19-year-old defeated University of San Diego rising senior Stian Klaassen of the Netherlands, a qualifier, 6-2, 6-3 in the $15K final. After a week off for the doubles competition at the USTA Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoffs, Svajda returned to Southern California to sweep the titles at the $15,000 tournament in Lakewood, California, beating qualifier Spencer Johnson, a UCLA rising junior, 6-4, 6-4 in the singles final, after partnering with Stanford rising junior Kyle Kang for his first pro doubles title. (Photo credit: Lexie Wanninger/USTA)
Eryn Cayetano
The former University of Southern California All-American swept the titles at back-to-back SoCal Pro Series W15 events last month in Rancho Santa Fe and Lakewood. Seeded No. 2 in Rancho Santa Fe, the 24-year-old from Long Beach defeated No. 4 seed Alexis Nguyen 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-0 in the final, after partnering with former teammate Lily Fairclough of Australia for the doubles title. The next week in Lakewood, again seeded No. 2, Cayetano didn't drop a set in taking the singles and doubles titles, beating qualifier Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, a UCLA rising senior, 6-3, 7-5 in the singles final, after partnering with Haley Giavara for her ninth Pro Circuit doubles title. Cayetano will be near the WTA Top 400 when the points are added. (Photo credit: Jon Mulvey/USTA SoCal)
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4-Jun-2025 NCAA Titles, Inaugural Pro Titles Highlight May Success
With the college season concluding and the clay season in full swing, May produced plenty of highlights, with the NCAA Division I team titles for Georgia and Wake Forest, the first pro titles for a quartet of juniors, and continued success for former collegians at all levels of the sport.
5-May-2025 Former Collegians and Precocious Juniors Among April Aces
Former collegians and precocious juniors found success on both hard and clay courts in the month of April, including 17-year-olds who made ITF women's World Tennis Tour history.
7-Apr-2025 Success Spans Many Levels and Surfaces for March Aces
In the month March, American juniors experienced succes in South America and Southern California, former collegiate stars compiled titles in ATP Challenger events, and current college players excelled on the Pro Circuit.
Colette Lewis
has covered topflight U.S. and international junior
events as a freelance journalist for over a decade.
Her work has appeared in Tennis magazine, the Tennis
Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on
Twitter,
and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net.
She was named
Junior Tennis Champion
for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.
Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National
Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the
tournament's ustaboys.com website
led her to establish
ZooTennis,
where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.
Colette Lewis has covered topflight junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade.
Read her weekly column, follow her on Twitter, and
and find more of her daily commentary at ZooTennis.
